Some who are reading the English version of this column may not be familiar with the term Tupiniquim, a word that Brazilians use to refer to themselves in a somewhat self-deprecating and not very serious way. Technically, a Tupiniquim refers to a member of the Tupi indigenous tribe, but in everyday speech, Brazilians use the term to refer to themselves in general. I am American indeed, but very Brazilian in my way of thinking, acting, and being as well. I confess that I feel like a somewhat Tupiniquim American.
My first contact with Brazil came at the age of 20 when I stepped onto the hot runway of Guararapes airport in Recife, ready to start an internship at the World Bank. Since then, I have returned to the country almost every year over the past 25 years, sometimes for leisure, sometimes to live. I earned a master’s degree in economics at UNICAMP. A few years later, I returned to work in the country with ABN AMRO bank during the phase when it was acquiring Banco Real. It was during this phase in São Paulo that I also met my first wife, and because of her, I am now the proud father of a beautiful 15-year-old Brazilian-American girl, Isabella, who lives here in the USA.
In 2009, after spending nearly a decade in New York, I moved my family back to Brazil – this time to Rio de Janeiro – so that I could be closer to them while I started a new chapter of my life on the other side of the Atlantic, in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. After all, I have lived more than 8 years in Brazil over the years.
I can’t even begin to count the number of flights I have taken to Brazil. More difficult is remembering how many times I have spent hours at a Sunday lunch sitting with friends at a churrascaria, sipping caipirinhas and asking the waiters to bring more picanha with crispy garlic, just the way I like it. Even harder to tally is the number of Brazilian friends I have accumulated over all these years; I won’t even attempt to list them all. Failing to mention even one of them would lead me to suffer serious reproaches.
I love a good Brazilian joke, told with the colorful expressions of a typical mineiro. I dream of the salty air of Ipanema and a bowl of authentic açaí with granola — not that half-hearted kind sold at gyms here in the United States today. Many times I miss the simplicity of Brazilian life, where most people have a way of living that surpasses the fanatical work life that Americans convince themselves they need for self-validation.
When I am in Brazil, I become Brazilian; my Portuguese accent is almost imperceptible, so they tell me. I am proud to be a Tupiniquim American.
And it is from this point of view that I will write my future columns. I hope you enjoy them.
Editor’s note: Arick Wierson has been a friend of The Brasilians newspaper and its owner and founder, João de Matos, since the early 2000s when Arick helped promote Brazil Day. At the time, Arick was a senior advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and was often chosen to serve as the mayor’s “ambassador” to the Brazilian community due to his deep familiarity with Brazil and its culture. He speaks Portuguese fluently and has lived many years in Brazil. In the following years, Arick’s career took him around the world working in media, politics, and technology. Today he writes a regular column for CNN and is also a journalist for The Observer, Vice, and Worth Magazine. Arick’s monthly column for The Brasilians will reflect this wealth of experience as he reflects on issues of particular importance that lie at the crossroads of the USA and Brazil. You can follow him on Twitter at @ArickWierson